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Curiosity Checks Sample Of Martian Atmosphere
Curiosity continued to work in good health during the Labor Day weekend. The rover drove 98 feet (30 meters) during the mission’s Sol 26, on Sept. 1. The drive included a test of the rover’s “visual odometry” capability for using onboard analysis of images to determine the distance it has driven. Sol 26 activities also included an empty-cell test analysis by the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument.
Planned activities for Sol 29 (Sept. 4) include another drive.
Sol 28, in Mars local mean solar time at Gale Crater, ended at 1:58 a.m. Sept. 4, PDT.
Getting to Know Mount Sharp
This image taken by the Mast Camera (MastCam) on NASA’s Curiosity rover highlights the interesting geology of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside Gale Crater, where the rover landed. Prior to the rover’s landing on Mars, observations from orbiting satellites indicated that the lower reaches of Mount Sharp, below the line of white dots, are composed of relatively flat-lying strata that bear hydrated minerals. Those orbiter observations did not reveal hydrated minerals in the higher, overlying strata.
The MastCam data now reveal a strong discontinuity in the strata above and below the line of white dots, agreeing with the data from orbit. Strata overlying the line of white dots are highly inclined (dipping from left to right) relative to lower, underlying strata. The inclination of these strata above the line of white dots is not obvious from orbit. This provides independent evidence that the absence of hydrated minerals on the upper reaches of Mount Sharp may coincide with a very different formation environment than lower on the slopes. The train of white dots may represent an “unconformity,” or an area where the process of sedimentation stopped.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Looking Back at Tracks from Sol 24 Drive
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity drove about 70 feet (about 21 meters) on the mission’s 21st Martian day, or sol (Aug. 30, 2012) and then took images with its Navigation Camera that are combined into this scene, which inclues the fresh tracks. The view is centered toward the west-northwest.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Martian Soil on Curiosity’s Wheels After Sol 22 Drive
Soil clinging to the right middle and rear wheels of NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity can be seen in this image taken by the Curiosity’s Navigation Camera after the rover’s third drive on Mars. The drive of about 52 feet (16 meters) during the 22nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Aug. 28, 2012), covered more ground than the two previous drives combined.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
